Stealing Home: Lynx record 23 thefts, blast Bulldogs by 45

Mason Myers continues to show that the future is bright with 18 points

January 7, 2013

WEBSTER CITY - Mason Myers looked and played like a sophomore who was just getting his feet wet at the varsity level during the first month of the basketball season.

But the kid has grown up in a hurry.

Now more comfortable in his own skin on the hardwood, the first-year starter continued to raise his stock Friday night with 18 points, three steals and three assists in Webster City's 67-22 shellacking of North Central Conference rival Hampton-Dumont inside the WCHS gymnasium.

Article Photos

DFJ photo by Troy BanningBoone Myers, a 6-foot-5 senior forward for Webster City, opts for the reverse lay-in rather than an attempted dunk in a crowd during the first half against Hampton-Dumont on Friday. Myers scored 10 points in the Lynx 67-22 rout.

DFJ photo by Troy BanningWCHS senior Nick Thilges (right) goes around Hampton-Dumont’s Chace Klein and puts up a shot in transition on Friday during the Lynx 67-22 victory.

DFJ photo by Troy BanningWCHS sophomore Mason Myers fires up a jumper from just inside the arc in the first half. He scored a game-high 18 points in the Lynx 67-22 win over Hampton-Dumont.

DFJ photo by Troy BanningWCHS senior guard Nick Olmstead (right) pounces as Hampton-Dumont’s Trevor Eiklenborg picks up his dribble in the backcourt during the first half on Friday. It led to one of Olmstead’s five steals.

DFJ photo by Troy Banning

Myers - the Lynx leading scorer at 15.8 points per

game - erupted for nine consecutive points late in the first quarter, had 11 by the end of the initial period, and exited the stage for good after the third quarter. He was able to kick back and watch the Lynx reserves build upon the already monstrous lead over the final 8 minutes.

"I'm a lot more comfortable out there now," Myers said. "The first couple of games I was really nervous, but now it's just like another game. I don't really worry about it now."

Myers buried a pair of 3-point bombs from the wing in the first quarter, and he also scored twice in transition following steals near midcourt.

"He's smooth, and if you just watched him (Friday night) you wouldn't really say he plays like a sophomore anymore," WCHS head coach Marty McKinney said. "And he's turning into a complete player, which is what we need."

Defensive aggressiveness was the name of the game for the Lynx (3-6, 3-5 NCC), who ended a two-game slump against the winless Bulldogs (0-9, 0-7 NCC). WCHS collected 23 steals with its full-court pressure and turned many of them into easy buckets.

The burglary mentality led to a 17-5 lead after one quarter and a 33-16 edge at the break. WCHS outscored Hampton-Dumont 21-4 in the third quarter to finish off the overmatched foe.

"Coming out of the (holiday) break, we knew that we had to pick up the defensive intensity because we want to be able to create offense with our defense," McKinney said. "That's going to be the key to our success the rest of the year, and the guys have bought into that and they really got after it (Friday night)."

Boone Myers dumped in 10 points to go along with four rebounds, four blocks and three assists. Austin Myers and Ben Mossman both had six points, Brody Foster added five, and Nick Thilges, Colby Larson and Nick Olmstead all chipped in four.

Mossman and Olmstead both had five steals.

WCHS shot 52 percent from the field (27 of 52) and piled up 17 assists on its 27 buckets. The Lynx also had just four second-half turnovers.

McKinney also liked what he saw from his reserves, as the second and third units outscored the Bulldogs 11-2 in the fourth quarter. Foster knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner as part of the run.

"We like our depth and we expect our second five to be almost as good as our first five," McKinney said. "I challenged the guys at halftime to come out and set the tone right away in the third quarter and they did that."

Hampton-Dumont finished with just eight field goals. Parker Claypool scored a team-high six points.

WCHS will get another full week to work before it plays again. The squad will return to the floor Friday night at home against Algona, and the Lynx will then head out on the road on Saturday for a non-conference test against Waverly-Shell Rock.